How to Clean Permanent Marker Off Surfaces

Permanent marker is designed to be just that, permanent. Fortunately, depending on the surface that has been marked, it may be possible to remove it. Walk through our list of possibilities to find one that is safe for your particular surface.

First, browse through our list above to find a removal product that is safe to use on your particular item. Hard surfaces are typically safe for most of the items. Upholstery and finished wood items need more selective choices so no spots are created on the surface. If ever you are in doubt, test a small, hidden area first to ensure there are no unwanted effects to the piece.

Cover the marker stain with the chosen product.

Allow it to set for several minutes.

Wipe the surface clean or wash the area if possible.

Repeat if necessary until the marker is removed.

In some cases, you may need to treat the cleaning product as well. For example, if you use WD-40 to remove the marker, you will then need to remove the grease or it may leave a grease stain in its place.

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This is the only product I’ve ever found that will really get permanent marker marks off of anything, including clothing. It’s great stuff, but you have to be careful using it because it has very strong fumes. Follow the instructions on the package exactly and the marker stain will come right off of whatever it happens to be on.

I got a giant blue permanent marker stain on my light pink hoodie the other day. I managed to get it all off by washing it ASAP by hand under warm water. Scrub repeatedly with soap. I also tried rubbing rice, Tide to go, laundry detergent, lemon, and rubbing alcohol on it. Only made the stain lighter. Then, I took a cotton swab and put NAIL POLISH REMOVER on it, laid it on my hoodie and rubbed. Within seconds, the stain was gone.

My daughter and her friends just love doodling on each other’s arms and hands with whatever marker they can find, so we’ve had to do this a lot. You can take off the marker skin art with Noxema, even if they used a Sharpie. Rub the Noxema in, then rinse it off with cold water. Keep doing it until the artwork is gone.

My son just used a permanent marker on our tile floor. My six-year-old (the cleaner) said, “let’s use this (baking soda).” It came off, but left a faint mark. We used rubbing alcohol to finish the job. It’s as good as new!

Ken,
Ultimately, it’s impossible to give any guarantee that your specific wood bar will not be damaged by a certain cleaner. From what I have been able to find online, rosewood xylophone bars are varnished, so treating them as unfinished wood is not necessary. Instead, a treatment that is safe for finished wood is best. Looking at the items in the list above, isopropyl alcohol on a q-tip might be a good choice. Alcohol dries exceptionally fast, which is why it is used on electronics, so that may help to decrease any possibility of alteration to the tone caused by liquid exposure. It’s also one of the best choices for removing permanent marker. The one downside to rubbing alcohol is that on finished wood, it can sometimes leave a white haze that must be removed with a little oil or furniture polish. Issuu suggests regularly cleaning a rosewood xylophone with furniture polish, so that might not be a problem. And that’s only if the alcohol does leave a white spot, it might not. Use a q-tip to apply the alcohol to expose as little of the wood as possible to it. Don’t use rubbing alcohol – only isopropyl alcohol. Rubbing alcohol contains other ingredients, including dyes, that could leave a stain or cause other damage.
The WD-40 also might be a good choice as it has an oil content that would make it more similar of a product to furniture polish than alcohol. Again, apply it on a q-tip – do not spray it directly onto the bars.
Do not use Goof-Off or acetone. Either of those are likely to remove the finish. A Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is likely to damage the finish as well, and so is ammonia, plus wood has an acidic pH naturally so you will want to stay away from any alkaline product.
You can ask at your local hardware store to see if there is a commercial product you can buy that is specifically made for removing marker and other similar stains, but you would have to be careful that it specifically says it is safe for finished wood. Motsenbocker’s Lift Off #3 might be a good choice, but read the label carefully to be sure and you can even contact the company for more information if needed. Unfortunately, testing a product on a small hidden area as is usually recommended is not much of an option for a xylophone, but you still should do so as one tiny dot of missing finish in a corner is better than a whole streak across the top.
Good luck!
Source: Issuu – Care of your Tuned Percussion Instruments
Source: Vienna Symphonic Library – Constrution of the orchestra xylophone
Source: Orchestral Percussion – Xylophone Tuning (Job No. 1294)
Source: Popular Woodworking Magazine – Goof Off has changed

Had a Dry Erase with cork pin board. Granddaughter was artsy and used a light blue and black lpin on both surfaces.
Took a bottle of Pantene hair spray to the bathroom, soaked the white board and wiped it off as slick as a whistle as grandpa used to say. Used paper towels to clean it off.

Then, took regular rubbing alcohol to the cork board. It soaked into the cork and the blue and black ink disappeared. A half-hour later, not a trace. Magic almost!
This board has been in my garage for over 6 months and I have no idea how old the art work signed was. Ha.
Mitch.

To remove permanent marker from hardwood floors, simply spray bug spray on the area, leave it for 10 seconds, and wipe it off. Just be careful to wipe the area down with water or another floor cleaner after you’ve removed the ink. The bug spray residue will make the area slippery.

Okay, so I got a pink shirt. Next day, TOTALLY ruined it with permanent marker. Used my Oxy-Clean detergent, didn’t work. Tried vinegar and water mixed together, now you can barely see the stain!! Can only see if you look super close. I will and forever recommend this to anyone who asks!!

No one knows why this works, but it does. If you get permanent marker or ink on a hard surface and you need to get it off, spray the ink with hairspray, let the hairspray set for thirty seconds and then wipe it off. Most of the ink will come off with it, and you can clean the rest off with soap and water.

I kept reading about rubbing alcohol getting permanent marker off wood, but I didn’t believe it. WOW!! It really works. I purchased a used kitchen table off ‘line for $75. The table was in excellent shape – except for the previous owners child had drawn (in red marker) on the table. I just figured I would cover it with a cloth and keep going. Once I read this site and saw the different things I could use, I decided; what the heck – why not give it a try. Initially, I used hairspray. It worked, but took longer. Then, I tried alcohol and that worked quicker and a whole lot better. Just dab a little on a cotton ball first, then run it over the spot. Yeah, you have to use a little elbow grease, but not much. The alcohol does the work. Now I have a new table again.
WARNING: Alcohol will take off the shine. So, I have to find something to make my table shine again. But mostly, I am glad the red marks are gone and it only cost me 50 cents.

I’m doing a science fair project on, “how permanent are permanent markers?” Like which surfaces, solvents (solutions), cloths (materials, e.g., towels, washcloths, napkins, etc.). You guys have helped so much. If you have any more please let me know. You don’t have to research it first or experiment it first. Even if you do test it and it doesn’t work, tell me and just say it doesn’t work; I can use it in my hypothesis. I would enjoy your replies. Thanks.

I had the magic marker problem even on my white leather couch. I tried alcohol, vinegar and everything else that was said on these comments. I found that what works the fastest and best was bug spray. The second fastest was sun block. This worked on leather, hardwood floors, my white entertainment center, TV… everything. Hope this helps.

It really does work on everything, including marker messes. Rub the mark with the Eraser and it will just disappear. Some surfaces don’t like the Eraser much, though, so check the package before you use it on something important.

My two-year-old got ahold of a thick black permanent marker and covered EVERYTHING in the living room. Toothpaste was amazing. It got it off of the hardwood floors, entertainment center, plastic toys, coffee table, rocking chair… every non-fabric surface.

The little boy I babysit for found a black magic marker to color with. Unfortunately, he got some on his brand new shirt. After trying so many different things, what a miracle – bug spray on the area for five minutes, then use a baby wipe, rubbing hard and before you know it, it was out completely.

David,
This is the article you need: How to Remove Permanent Marker Stains
Fading will depend on the type of material that your hat is made from and the type of stain remover that you use. Look at the tag on the cap for washing instructions or fabric materials and research the best ink stain remover for that fabric. Since your hat is new, it likely has a plastic brim, can be machine washed and has been treated with dye fixative. A stain-removing laundry detergent could be a good option. Finding a hidden area to test a stain remover on a baseball hat can be tough; you may want to just go for it and hope for the best. Rubbing alcohol is a commonly recommended method for removing ink stains from fabrics.
Alternatively, you could take your son to a game and have a professional athlete sign the hat with a Sharpie to incorporate or cover the current stain. 🙂

Well, my two young nieces and nephews were jumping on my leather couch with permanent markers in their hands. My niece accidentally dropped hers while jumping and it left a little dot, but then my nephew thought it was fun so what he did was made it bigger with another permanent marker (black). I got some baby oil, put it on a cloth, then I rubbed gently on the sofa and it came out.

PS. If it doesn’t work, then I’m sorry, but it works on different things. Plus, I used Johnson’s baby oil (pink lid) from boots. The chemist at any shop will sell them, even beauty shops.

My sister got some marker stains off her couch by using nail polish remover. Just dab the remover all over the ink, then blot off the ink and remover with a rag – don’t rub, you’ll end up smearing the marker and making a bigger mess. If the smell bothers you, spray the couch with Febreeze.

If you get permanent marker on wood, (I would think it would work elsewhere too) use Dawn dish soap. Just cover the area with soap, let sit for as long as you can stand it, and it will come right off. That works with any marker.